06/08/2015 - PLAINVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS (NORFOLK COUNTY) - For two, twelve hour periods, on the dates of Monday, June 8th, and Tuesday, June 9th, 2015 there was a simulated, large scale natural disaster in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dubbed "Operation Swift Response", this full-scale exercise was conducted in Plainville and Topsfield, which simulated a statewide natural disaster, and tested the capabilities, plans, policies, and procedures of several local, regional, and statewide organizations. The scenario for Operation Swift Response was a statewide natural disaster, in this case a hurricane, which created multiple areas of mass devastation between the North and South Shore areas of the state. Local technical rescue teams would be required to be deployed to various sites and would need additional resources that are not available in their immediate area. As the severity of the natural disaster was realized during the training exercise, the means of transporting crews and equipment to different sites became difficult. Local resources reached out to the National Guard Aviation for assistance in transporting technicians, and equipment to different sites of devastation. Blackhawk helicopters were called in to transport these assets to the sites of destruction. First crews flown out to areas of the disaster were command staff and search crews. These crews touched off from the grounds of the Mansfield Airport, and landed at the incident sites. Command posts were set up by the command and communications staff, and search crews were met with initial reports from first responding firefighters who were already on-scene. Each site presented its own unique challenges. Search crews initially dispatched to the sites utilized search cameras, listening devices, K-9's, and other search techniques to check the initial disaster sites. Technical rescue crews who responded to the site needed to request equipment to breach and break their way into voids where victims may be located. Other crews needed to shore buildings with supports before they could be entered. Other crews, were tasked with freeing trapped victims with extrication equipment. The National Guard not only utilized their Blackhawk helicopters for bringing crews and equipment into the scenes of disaster, but also in evacuating the "injured" patients from the scene to safety. National Guard members assisted several of the squads in the technical rescue operations on the ground as well. Technical rescue teams from Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Norfolk, Plymouth, and District 14 operated during the two-day Operation Swift Response. In additional to the technical rescue teams, the Fire Chiefs of Massachusetts (Technical Rescue Committee or COMTRIST), National Guard, Department of Fire Services, Plainville Fire Department, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency also assisted during the training exercise.
